Saints Row 4 will be 'wilder' - THQ

Publisher EVP Danny Bilson confirms fourth installment in Volition's madcap action game is in development, will iterate on The Third.

Game publishers are typically extremely careful about when and how they announce new games, but THQ executive vice president of Core Games Danny Bilson has a reputation for bucking that trend. In recent years, the executive has outed such upcoming titles as Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War III and Homefront 2.

Adding one more to that list, Bilson has confirmed that Saints Row 4 is in development. "I know what Saint's Row 4 is about, and it is wilder than this one," Bilson said as part of an interview with G4. "It's a good example of how you take what you have and go, 'Well, what can happen in the next?'" The Bilson interview yielded no other information on the game.

Bilson's comments come as Saints Row: The Third heads to stores for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC on November 15. With preorders tracking four times higher than Saints Row 2, Saints Row: The Third picks up with the player running the Third Street Saints. Once a small-town gang, the Saints have grown to control the organized crime within Stilwater and even have their own brand, with licensed sneakers, energy drinks, and bobbleheads.

However, the Saints' success has drawn the attention of the globally powerful Syndicate, a criminal fraternity that insists on a cut of the action. Players will adopt the role of a member of the Saints who must relocate to the Syndicate's hometown of Steelport after a botched bank robbery forces them to flee Stilwater.